Stung by leaks that paint their client in a bad light, lawyers for former International Monetary Fund director Dominique Strauss-Kahn claim they have dirt on the accuser, reports the New York Daily News. The accused sex attacker’s team complained to prosecutors that police have been doling out confidential information to the media. The note apparently was prompted by revelations that Strauss-Kahn’s semen was found on the shirt of the hotel maid who says he tried to rape her.
Defense lawyers said the reports imperiled the chance of a “fair trial” for the French pol, who is under house arrest in a $14 million home. They demanded an end to the leaks and an early look at the prosecution’s evidence – and then said they could smear the accuser if they wanted. “Were we intent on improperly feeding the media frenzy, we could now release substantial information that in our view would seriously undermine the quality of this prosecution and also gravely undermine the credibility of the complainant in this case,” lawyers Benjamin Brafman and William Taylor wrote. Prosecutor Joan Illuzzi-Orbon responded that she was aware of no such information, and if there were any, the defense should “forward it immediately to the district attorney’s office.” The maid, a single mother and West African immigrant, told authorities Strauss-Kahn attacked her while she was cleaning his hotel suite May 14.